


You Take My Body (I Give You Heat)

by nothingelsematters



Series: One Sentimental Moment [1]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alpha Brian, Alpha Freddie, Alpha Roger, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega John, Scenting, a/b/o dynamics, heat negotiation, lots of smut, pretending to be a beta trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-13 05:10:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18462152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothingelsematters/pseuds/nothingelsematters
Summary: John had thought their last show was perfectly timed to finish the day before his heat started.Turns out, when around three sexy, adrenaline-fueled alphas, his body has other ideas.





	1. Don't Lose Your Head

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot believe it's taken this long for me to get an ABO prompt!
> 
> This one grew legs. It wasn't supposed to get this long but it just...ran away with me.
> 
> Original prompt: Ahh I’m so happy your askbox is open again!!! Anyways so poly!queen a/b/o with alphas Freddie, Brian, and Roger but omega John. However in the ‘70s theres some omega discrimination to get into university so John pretends to be a beta. The others don’t find out until he starts to go into heat during(or after) a performance.
> 
> Title is from Get Down, Make Love.

**November 1974**

_John could do nothing more than throw his head back and moan eagerly at the feeling of Brian’s long fingers working deeply inside him, curling and twisting in a way that turned his stomach to molten lava. His moan was caught by Roger’s lips on his, his tongue working its way into John’s mouth, and the lava-like feeling began to creep up his spine as Freddie’s mouth closed over John’s cock…_

John groaned as shrill ringing of his alarm clock jolted him awake.

He rolled over and fumbled with the bedside table until it stopped, grimacing as he realised he’d kicked off some of the pillows and his quilt and that his pyjama pants were damp.

With a sigh, John pulled himself out of bed. Normally, he liked to spend the day before a heat by himself, making sure his nest was perfect and his apartment (well, more like a bedsit, really) was prepared. But there was no chance of that today; the last show of their tour, their second night at the Rainbow, was tonight, and they needed to play well.

He carefully picked up the pillows and discarded quilt and fixed his nest, taking a moment to examine it. It looked cosy and comfortable and just right, and he felt a flush of instinctive pride that he could make such a good nest.

The cool touch of his damp pyjama pants reminded him of his other problem. He stripped them quickly, efficiently, and tossed them in the laundry hamper; he had several pairs. Pre-heat always had that effect on him.

John hurried into the shower, knowing he needed to scrub his body clean before he went to join the others. His body flushed up again as he thought of his dream. His hopeless pining was always worst before a heat; some romantic part of him dreamed that one day, the other three would claim him, and he would be _their_ omega and they would be _his_ alphas and help him through his heats…

_Whoops, that’s probably not the best way to think of things right now._

Resigned to having to get himself off before he went to soundcheck, John reached back, feeling his inner thighs still messy with slick, and slid two fingers easily into himself, sighing with relief as he took his cock in his other hand. He worked himself over quickly, expertly, closing his eyes under the spray as he imagined it being Roger, or Freddie, or Brian…

Once he was clean, and all evidence of his arousal had been scrubbed away with strong-smelling soap, John dried his skin and took out the box of scent-blockers. He was running low, he thought absently; he’d have to find a way to get some more. Pulling out two, he pulled off the paper backing and carefully applied the adhesive patches over the two scent glands on either side of his neck. They were already reddening. John wrinkled his nose and hoped the patches would hold; he slipped a spare pair into his gig bag.

His life would be so much easier if he could just be himself and not have to worry about pretending to be a beta, he thought glumly as he turned on the grill to make his usual pre-show cheese on toast. But unmated omegas weren’t allowed to go to university, and it was kinda nice to be able to walk around on the street without getting leered at and harassed. An unmated omega would certainly _never_ be allowed to play in a band, and _especially_ not with unmated alphas. Some days John wondered if that would ever change. It was _1974_ , for goodness’ sake; it was the modern era!

Still, occasionally he toyed with the idea of telling Brian, Roger and Freddie. They were all good men, and he’d seen the way they spoke to omegas; exactly the same way they spoke to betas or alphas. He’d seen Roger politely disentangle himself from a too-drunk omega and get her a cab home. He’d seen Brian coming to the rescue of an omega who was being harassed by another alpha, but not show an interest in the omega himself. He’d heard the protective way Freddie spoke of his sister. Most days, John was sure, they wouldn’t care.

But there was still just enough doubt in his mind to prevent him from telling them.

*

Soundcheck went about as well as usual; Roger and Brian ended up bickering over one of the songs, as usual, and John sat there tuning his bass and toying idly with the idea of telling them once again.

“You all right?” Freddie asked, coming to sit next to him. “You look a little pale.”

“Oh, just tired,” John lied, smiling. “It’s been a long tour.”

“Yes,” Freddie agreed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m glad Roger vetoed the idea of our last show being tomorrow night instead. I think I’ll sleep for a week when we’re done!”

John laughed, nodding. When the tour schedule had first come out, he had immediately noticed two particular dates that clashed with when his heats were expected. He’d spent five minutes torturing himself over how to bring it up without revealing himself when Roger had jumped in and protested exactly those two dates; he had a family visit scheduled for the first one, and, he said as he pointed to the last show which conflicted with the first day of John’s heat, they would all be very tired by then and a Sunday show wouldn’t sell as well. Roger had got his way, and those two dates had been removed.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he felt Freddie’s leg press up against his; the singer drooped over John’s side, hooking his chin over his shoulder, and John couldn’t help but smile. Freddie’s scent was so nice. John wasn’t sure how he’d describe it, but it made him feel warm.

Unable to resist, he let himself sag against Freddie back; he loved these moments of physical intimacy. They happened fairly often, but John still treasured each one.

It did seem to have the effect of making Brian jealous; the guitarist soon was draped over John’s other side. John could smell his bad temper fading away, and subconsciously stroked his curls.

That, if anything, made Roger even more jealous, but he just pouted instead, making exaggerated sad faces at John, and John couldn’t do anything but laugh.

Mated or not, Queen was his pack, and he wouldn’t trade them for the world.

*

Of course, in all his plans, John had completely forgotten to account for the show itself.

Playing and performing often sent the three alphas into a state close to rut; not fully into the state itself, of course – that would be dangerous – but something very like it, their adrenaline running high. Certainly the pheromones in their scents were close to it. John’s body, of course, always reacted fairly strongly; normally, he didn’t have any problems resisting the whole show, though it always made for a spectacular wank later.

Unfortunately, this close to his heat, it seemed to have a different effect; that of a trigger.

John didn’t realise what was happening until a savage cramp hit him in the middle of  _Stone Cold Crazy_ , making him double over in pain; somehow, he managed to pass it off as just bending over his bass, the way he often did in concerts. But then Freddie had to go and stand behind him, grinding up against him the way he so often did, and John felt the spiral of warmth up his spine that signaled the transition from pre-heat to heat proper, and if he’d spoken all of the swear words in his head aloud the air would have been blue.

He had nowhere to look. If he looked at Freddie, he’d see his gyrating hips and sexy pout. If he looked at Brian, he’d see those long clever fingers, the way he sucked on his lower lip as he played. And if he looked at Roger, well, he’d see those seductive eyes, the fluid wrists, the...

John cringed as he felt himself starting to get wet.  _Think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts._

 

And then Roger started playing the intro to  _Liar_ , and John had to restrain a whimper, followed by the mad desire to swear as more dull cramps rippled through him.  _You can do it, just don’t think that way, it’s only a few more songs, it’s only-_

 

 _“_ Mama I’m gonna be your slave!” Freddie purred, looking into John’s eyes, his scent draping over him, and John had to close his eyes against the incredibly powerful urge to drop to his knees and bare his throat.

“All day long,” he managed to gasp out. Freddie’s eyes flashed concern at him, but he continued the song.

John didn’t know how he got through the rest of the show, thighs clenched tightly to stop himself leaking slick, forever grateful he’d worn black pants. He could practically feel the scent blockers straining to contain his scent; they were irritating the skin over his scent glands, itchy and annoying. For now they were still working. He just had to hope he didn’t leak.

He was so focused on that that he barely heard Roger’s warning in time. The alpha looked more riled up than usual, and John guessed something bad was about to happen. Self-preservation took over and he ran for the front of the stage.

The next thing he knew, there were several loud bangs behind him, and then Freddie’s hands were on him, ushering him carefully off-stage. The touch was enough to set John’s skin on fire. Fortunately, his brain was still in control; he just kept running, straight through into the dressing room and slamming the door shut, locking it.

Immediately, John crossed to the basin and splashed water on his face, trying cool his skin down. He reached back with a grimace, feeling a slight wet patch on his pants. He was _so close_. All he had to do was get out of there.

A loud banging on the dressing room door interrupted his thoughts.

“Deaky? Deaky, c’mon, this isn’t funny, let us in!”

John quickly began to gather his things. If he was quick, he could slip out, make a joke, and then hurry home.

“John?” Brian’s voice was softer. “John, are you all right? We’re worried about you – Fred said you looked sick earlier.”

“Please let us in, John,” Freddie pleaded. “Whatever it is we can face it together, come on…”

John closed his eyes.

In truth, he _did_ want to let them in. He _did_ want to tell them, he _did_ want to let them smell him, he _did_ want them. He’d wanted them for _years_ , fallen in love with all three of them within months of joining the band.

But he didn’t want them like _this_. Not when they were all in a near-rut state anyway, not when he was sending out all kinds of biological signals that would make them want him regardless. He wanted to sit down with them and talk with them and date them and even sleep with them _before_ his next heat.

John didn’t think his heart could take it if they only wanted him because he was an omega.

An even louder thump on the door brought him back to reality. The reality was he’d freaked them out now, and with every second that passed it was going to be harder and harder to hide what was going on. And after this, they wouldn’t let him just _leave_.

“John! You have thirty seconds to open this door or we’re breaking it down!” There was a mumbling sound, then Roger’s voice returned: “Or we’ll get security to!”

That made up John’s mind. _No way_ was he having more people know his secret than necessary.

And then he saw the bottle of Brian’s favourite cologne, and a _brilliant_ idea struck him.

Without hesitation, he pulled off the top and knocked the bottle over. Almost immediately the room was drenched in the smell of cologne…drowning out all other smells.

John walked over to the door. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “All right. I’m unlocking it, but you have to give me ten seconds to move away.”

There was more indistinguishable mumbling, then Freddie’s voice said, “Fine!”

John flicked the lock, turned tail and _fled_ to the other side of the room. He grabbed a towel and sat on it quickly, before curling himself into a ball, hoping that he couldn’t be scented over the cologne.

Exactly on the count of ten, the door burst open and the three alphas piled in, their faces pale and worried.

“John? Are you all right? Are you sick? What happened?”

“Are you hurt? Is everything okay?”

“What happened? Did you have an accident?” Brian had seen the bottle of upended cologne, and his nose wrinkled. The smell truly was overpowering.

“Please don’t crowd me,” John whimpered as the three alphas loomed.

Immediately they backed off. John could smell distress on them, even cutting over the near-rut scent of their concert.

“I’m all right. I’m just tired and don’t feel well,” John lied, looking down. He hated lying, but he hated doing it to the other three most of all. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be sick or not, so I locked the door.”

“Deaky, darling, we’ve held your hair before,” Freddie looked concerned. “Something else is bothering you.”

“Was it Rog’s stupid stunt with the drums?” Brian asked softly. “Gave you a fright?”

John managed a glare at Brian. “I’m not a child, Bri.”

“No, you’re definitely not.”

Chills ran down John’s spine at Roger’s flat tone. He looked slowly around at the drummer, whose face was equally expressionless.

And right then John remembered what Roger’s degree was in.

 _Biology_.

“John,” Roger’s voice softened slightly, “do you want to tell us?”

“Tell you what?” John’s voice rose in panic, in spite of his best attempt to stay cool. “I’m not hiding anything.”

Brian and Freddie were now looking between John and Roger, confused.

“I understand if you don’t trust us,” Roger continued. “But I’d hoped you’d see we wouldn’t treat you differently, by now. I promise, John, it doesn’t make a difference, not to me, not to any of us.” Roger was doing his best to stay neutral, but in his heightened state, John could see the hint of hurt in his eyes, the touch of wounded tone, and he wanted to die. He’d never wanted to hurt any of them by keeping the secret.

“How long have you known?” he asked Roger, trying to distract him.

“Two years,” Roger replied, shocking John to his core. He thought he’d hidden it better than that. “Oh please,” Roger continued at the look on John’s face. “You were always _sick_ or _busy_ on a set pattern, you don’t smell like a beta, and you never go home with anyone or flirt with anyone. You’re sensitive to our scents more than a beta would be. It wasn’t hard to figure out. I just wondered how long you were going to wait.”

“Wait for _what_?” Brian finally burst out. “John, what does Roger know that we don’t?”

John hid his face in his knees, but Roger spoke again. “Guys, before he tells us, it’s time to tell him.”

That made John look up curiously.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to…”

“I know, Bri. But trust me, right now, he _needs_ to know. Because if you don’t tell him _now_ , he’s gonna think it’s because of the thing he’s gonna tell us.”

“When did you become the smart one?” Freddie snarked.

“ _Guys_ ,” Roger said warningly. “We’re on short time here.”

John had been doing a good job of pushing his heat to the back of his mind until that moment. Another cramp stabbed him.

“Okay.” Brian took a deep breath, his fingers twisting the way they did when he was nervous. “John…you know that Roger, Freddie and myself have an…unconventional relationship, don’t you?”

John nodded, his curiosity at war with his baser instincts.

“Well…for a long time…almost since you joined the band, we…we’ve wanted you to join us.”

John’s eyes widened. Brian looked helplessly at Freddie, who took over.

“We think you’re beautiful and sweet and perfect, John, darling. We care so very much about you. And we were hoping, one day, when you were ready, you’d join us.”

“Of course, if you don’t want us, that’s fine too,” Roger finished hastily. “Just say so, and we’ll never say anything again. But John – I want you to know – this is for _you_. This is about who you are, not what you are. I promise you, John, I wanted you before I knew, and they want you and they don’t know. I swear.”

John could hardly speak around the hot ball of tears in his throat. They wanted him? They wanted him not because he was an omega but for him?

“John? What were you going to tell us, darling?”

John took a deep breath, and reached for the scent blocker on his left, pushing his shirt aside. Roger stopped him.

“You gotta walk past a whole lot of people to get out of here, John,” he grinned. “You might not wanna take those off yet.”

“Wait…” Brian’s eyes were fixed on the shiny adhesive patch now visible. “That’s a…”

“A scent blocker.” John swallowed. He couldn’t look at them. He couldn’t. “I’m…not a beta. I’m…I’m an omega.”

There was dead silence in the room, and John hid his face. There. His secret was out. He’d be kicked out of the band. Even if the other three cared for him, surely they wouldn’t let their omega play in public –

“For university.” Brian’s tone was a mix of understanding and anger. “Of course. The stupid rules.” His face softened into a smile. “John, my dear, you’re not the only omega I’ve ever known who’s pretended so they can go to university. I would have understood. Someone bright and clever and talented like you deserves every chance.”

“You thought you’d need to for the band, too, didn’t you?” Freddie asked curiously. “Darling, of course it doesn’t matter to us – you’re the best bassist any of us have ever heard, we’d be crazy to stop you playing just because of what you were born as.”

John couldn’t speak – largely because of the even more powerful cramp that left him fighting back a cry of pain. In spite of his best efforts, he felt the seat of his pants dampen with slick. Even the powerful smell of Brian’s cologne wasn’t powerful enough to overwhelm the three alphas’ scents, and now that they’d admitted they wanted him, his body was trying to take over proceedings.

Unfortunately, it also seemed that the cologne wasn’t powerful enough to mask the smell of slick, either.

Brian’s eyes darkened briefly, before he scrambled to his feet, backing away.

“Jesus, John, are you in _heat_?”

John nodded miserably.

“When did it start, John?” Roger asked gently. “I didn’t think you were due until tomorrow.” At the startled looks that received, Roger threw his hands in the air defensively. “I didn’t _mean_ to start tracking his cycle! It was sort of an accident. Plus it meant he didn’t have to be the one rescheduling stuff all the time.”

John spoke through gritted teeth as he rode out the cramp. “’m not. Came early, during the show.”

Roger’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit. This is our fault, isn’t it?”

John nodded again, sighing in relief as the cramp passed, and Freddie, who had backed away to the opposite end of the room to join Brian, asked, “What’s our fault?”

“We stink!” Roger shot back. “We smell like rut! John, love…what do you want to do?”

John looked up to find that Roger had also backed away, placing the cologne bottle nearer to John to try and fade their scents a little.

_They want me for me. Now they want me for this, too. I want them. I’ve always wanted them._

“Well,” John managed a smile, “it _would_ be nice not to endure this alone…all alone in my apartment with just my hand and one sad little dildo for company…”

Freddie let out a growl that went straight to John’s gut.

“John,” Brian said firmly, his voice clearly restrained and his eyes dark but body unmoving, “How deep in are you? Can you spell out for us what you want to happen?”

John felt a sudden rush of love for them all. They knew that, once an omega’s heat was in full flow, they were at risk of saying yes to any alpha that came their way, regardless of feelings. They wanted to make sure John knew.

“I’m still conscious, Bri,” John said gently. “I’ve got maybe an hour before I lose myself. Brian, Roger, Fred…I would be delighted if you wanted to join me for my heat. If you want to.”

Some of the tension relaxed out of the other three’s bodies.

“Do you have rules, darling?” Freddie asked.

John nodded; he’d thought about it a lot, though he hadn’t had an alpha before. “No biting,” he said, straight away. “I mean it; keep your teeth to yourselves. Though I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to kiss there. Just…no biting.”

Roger nodded. “We got it. No biting. Anything else? Do you…would you want to be…to be knotted?”

John twitched as he felt his pants dampen further. “Yes,” he said quietly, trying not to think too much about it lest he lose himself too soon. “Yes, I would like that. I’m on birth control.”

“How?” Roger’s voice was sharp, and John knew why; it was generally illegal for unmated omegas to obtain birth control without an alpha’s consent. Black market birth control was usually dangerous.

“My mother told our hometown doctor a sob story…cried at her about her fears for me…so she wrote the script. It won’t last much longer, though. I’ll have to figure something else out then.”

Roger nodded, looking relieved. “So we’re doing this.”

John ducked his head, smiling. “If you want to,” he replied, suddenly shy that they _wouldn’t_ want him.

“Of course we want to. We want to help you,” Freddie was inching his way closer.

“None of us like seeing you in discomfort,” Brian said gently as he came closer, too. “I can see how much pain you’re in.”

“John?” Roger’s voice was impossibly soft. “Can we…can we touch you?”

John’s whole body screamed out _yes_ , but his brain told him _no_ – they still had to get out to the car and back to his apartment, and the longer he was around their scents – now warm and spicy, the rut pheromones fading to normal arousal – the shorter the time he had before he lost control.

“Not yet,” John dragged himself back to the present. He couldn’t help a smile at the obvious disappointment painted on the three faces before him. “We have to get out of here, back to my apartment.”

“Fair point,” Brian sighed. “We’d best be quick about it, or else someone will catch us here and want photos or something.”

John retreated to the bathroom to change, grateful to pull off his slick-soaked pants and wash himself a little. Dignity regained, he slid his jeans on, shoving his other clothing back into his gig bag; fortunately, the bag had a scent-absorbing lining – it had cost John enough money that he’d had to eat very little for a month, but it was worth it for situations like this.

Still, he grabbed a towel on the way out, to be sure.

The other three were waiting when he came back out, already changed and ready; they form a phalanx around him protectively as they walked together out of the change room, stopping anyone from getting close, and while such behaviour would normally have annoyed John, right now it just made him feel warm again.

Fortunately, no-one was game to approach Freddie when his face was like that, or Brian when his brows made that line, so they got out the back with little incident, clambering into the car. John surreptitiously slid the towel over the seat before sitting on it; he was grateful that none of the others mentioned it.

Roger’s fingers were twitching. “Not yet?” he asked, though a little hopeful.

“Not yet,” John replied, conscious of the driver’s presence. “Wait.”

John closed his eyes, counting his heartbeats as he meditated. He wanted to maintain control as long as possible.


	2. Like A Shooting Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys return to John's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, apparently writing heat sex is...really weird and difficult? I hope you guys like it anyway! I've tweaked one or two little details to suit my own worldbuilding.

John had always fantasised about the day he brought his three alphas home to help him through a heat.

_Brian would pin him to the wall – he was the only one tall enough to do it – and suck along his neck as Freddie and Roger stripped John’s clothes from him, leaving him naked beneath their gaze, before carrying him through to the bedroom…_

In reality, what actually happened was that John had locked the door as soon as they got inside, then became horribly aware of the presence of a few crumbs in the kitchen from his pre-show toast, and a magazine slightly crooked on the coffee table. He had, of course, cleaned his apartment thoroughly just yesterday, but sudden panic struck him at the sight of these details. What would these alphas think, stepping into a mess?

He almost ran into the kitchen to grab his broom, sweeping frantically to make sure the smallest crumbs were caught. He didn’t want his alphas to think he was incapable of keeping a home.

“John,” Roger said quietly. “Your apartment is very nice.”

John looked up at Roger, surprised. Roger was smiling.

“And it’s very clean, you’ve obviously done a very good job cleaning it,” the drummer added, and the praise felt like a hand being smoothed down his spine.

Brian was the quickest to catch on. “Everything is very tidy! I think it looks wonderful.”

Warmth filled John’s chest. Roger and Brian thought he was a good housekeeper!

Annoyed, John pinched himself. He hated this phase, when his instincts were clamouring loudest, overriding his common sense. Roger and Brian wouldn’t care if he didn’t know which end of a broom to use!

“You needn’t be nervous, darling,” Freddie’s voice soothed. “We think you’re the most wonderful person in the world.”

John couldn’t help his little purr at that.

“I’ve an idea,” Roger suggested. “How about you take five minutes to yourself, sweet thing, and go get yourself comfortable in your bedroom? We’ll join you soon. Promise.”

John smiled back at Roger. “Thanks,” he said, noticing the sigh of relief from Brian when he finally spoke. “I guess I just…I _am_ a bit nervous. I’ll…I’ll go in now.”

He trailed off into the bedroom, closing the door behind him as he went.

“Good pickup with the cleaning, Rog,” Brian scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t figure out what he was doing.”

“What _was_ he doing, darling?”

“Showing off,” Roger explained. “His omega instincts are on overdrive trying to impress the alphas…and I suppose they’re probably worse than usual given there’s three of us…he’s trying to show us what a good…” Roger hesitated and swallowed. “What a good mate he’ll be.”

Brian and Freddie’s eyes both went comically wide.

“ _Mate_?”

“Well, that’s what the biological process is _designed_ for,” Roger shrugged. “It’s not John’s fault his instincts haven’t caught up to the modern era. When we go in, make sure to tell him how much you like his nest, how pretty he looks, how comfortable everything is.”

“Rog, dearest,” Freddie laid a hand over Roger’s. “You’re overthinking this.”

Roger laughed shakily, leaning into Brian, who had pressed up behind him.

“You’re probably right. It’s just…we’ve wanted this for so long…and I’ve wanted this for so long…I just want it to be _perfect_ for him. Because I think we’re his first.”

“His first heat partners?”

“No. His first alphas.”

There was a moment of silence while all three contemplated that. And then suddenly a scent was curling through the air, leaking out from under the door, and all of their hair stood on end.

“Jesus,” Brian muttered weakly. “Thank god you stopped him taking those blockers off at the theatre, Rog. God, he smells _delicious_.”

“Has it been five minutes?” Freddie asked, worrying his lip between his teeth. “I don’t want him to think we abandoned him or anything.”

“I think so. Deep breaths, let’s not scare him.”

Freddie smiled and kissed Roger gently. “I’m more worried about scaring _you_ at the moment, sweetheart.”

Brian knocked carefully on John’s door.

“John, love? Can we come in?”

“Yes,” John’s voice answered strongly.

Brian opened the door, and the three alphas froze in the doorway.

John’s bed had been turned into a nest of pillows, blankets, quilts, and practically anything soft. It was definitely big enough for the four of them, and in the middle, John lay curled in a ball, naked, the sheets below him already damp with slick. Even as they watched, he lifted his head slightly and sniffed, and the tension leaked out of his body, visibly relaxing.

“Close the door, please, Bri, you’re letting all the cold air in,” John murmured.

Brian immediately complied.

John’s smile turned a little shy as he sat up and looked up at them, his eyes shining.

“Do you…do you want to join me?”

“Oh, _yes_ , darling,” Freddie breathed. He was the first to approach, leaning over the nest. “Can I kiss you, love?”

The way John’s scent thickened around them gave them their answer a split second before he spoke.

“Please.”

Freddie leaned forward a little further, and brushed his lips softly against John’s. The result was instant. John let out a little moan and tilted his head up a little more, his mouth opening obediently, and Freddie’s fingertips brushed his cheek.

After a few moments, John pulled back, his skin now flushed all over his body.

“Can you…I need…” John appeared to grope for the words he was looking for.

“Skin contact?” Roger asked hesitantly.

“Yeah,” John sighed happily. “Yeah, that would be good.”

Brian was the first to get out of his clothes, clambering over the deliberately low section of the nest. He kissed John slowly, tenderly, his hands running down John’s arms, and John whimpered, pressing himself closer.

Freddie joined them next, pressing up behind John and kissing his bare shoulder, and John couldn’t help but sigh happily. His eyes were glazing slightly, a sure sign, Roger knew, that he was close to going under.

Then those eyes were fixed on him, and John reached out.

“Rog,” he murmured. “C’mere.”

Roger finished undressing and climbed hesitantly into the next. He rapidly flicked through the knowledge in his mind. “I like your nest.”

A bright smile lit up John’s face, before being replaced with a slight frown, and then Roger had a lapful of their bassist, John’s skin pressing against his in almost every way possible in a way that had tingles racing across Roger’s limbs.

“Rog,” he said softly, “I’m not your textbook.”

Roger bit his lip. “I just want it to be perfect for you.”

“I know,” John replied. “But all you need to do for that is to be _Roger_ , not recite what you learned about omega heats from your biology classes. I want this to be _us_ , not a checklist.”

Roger felt some of the tension leak out of his body.

“Besides,” John added with a little giggle that went straight to Roger’s cock, “The textbooks are pretty stupid, anyway.”

“Oh?” Roger managed a light tone. He was vividly aware of Brian and Freddie’s intense gazes. “Can you give me an example?”

“Mm,” John nuzzled his lips into Roger’s neck. “Well, how about we start with fingers. Did you know, I once read a textbook that said omegas in heat could only orgasm on an alpha’s knot?”

His hips ground down, and John grabbed Roger’s wrist and rested it dangerously low on his hip.

“Why don’t you test that theory, Biologist Taylor?”

The low purr caused indrawn hisses from all three alphas, and Roger crept his hand around.

“You can start with two, if you like.”

Roger felt his cock twitch, and carefully, anxious not to hurt John, slipped two fingers inside him. Shock rippled through him at how easily they slipped in, slick and easily-stretched muscle easing the way. John let out another low purr and pressed himself closer to Roger, his hips pushing downwards.

“Rog,” John’s voice was a whine now. “Rog, please…”

Feeling a little bolder, Roger pressed his fingers deeper, curling them, searching for that sweet spot inside John. He was amazed at how easily John’s body seemed to take him. It took a lot of stretching and lube for Brian or Freddie to be able to take two fingers…

A brief thought flitted through his mind. How many fingers could he easily get inside John? Three? Four? Perhaps…perhaps his whole hand?

His cock twitched at the thought and John moaned against him, his nose now almost glued to Roger’s scent gland, his lips moving along his collarbone. Roger bit his lip, and slid in a third finger.

The sound John made was positively obscene, his scent getting stronger, and it took all of Roger’s willpower not to flip him over and fuck him then and there. Instead, he focused on his goal: prove the textbook wrong, make John come without a knot. He slid his other hand in between their bodies to curl around John’s cock, and started twisting his fingers harder, searching…

He knew he’d found it when John let out a high-pitched cry, writhing in his lap; Roger grinned in triumph and pressed down again, sliding a fourth finger in as he did. He felt the briefest scrape of John’s teeth across his collarbone before the omega’s head was thrown back, and he was coming with a loud wail, slick gushing over Roger’s hand.

Roger eased his fingers out slowly, making John shiver and whimper with aftershocks, laying the younger man out. John’s scent had flagged slightly; the heat dimmed for now. Roger knew it was only temporary; yet he found himself curled around John, wishing they could just lie there.

And then he remembered Freddie and Brian.

Opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of them kissing frantically, their hands around each other’s cocks, clearly turned on. Roger chuckled softly and they turned towards him.

“That was so hot, god,” Freddie growled.

A soft sigh drew their attention; John was clearly conscious again, and the changes in his scent alerted the alphas that his heat was building once more, and probably worse now that he’d already come once. John opened his eyes, and they were completely grey, no sign of the soft green.

“Roger,” he whimpered. “Please…”

“You want me to knot you, love?”

John nodded frantically, biting his lip.

“Are you ready?”

“ _Rooooog!_ ”

“All right, all right.”

Roger twisted them carefully, so that John was flat on his back, his legs linked around Roger’s waist, he lifted John’s hips, and sank home so easily that he almost fell forward. John was warm and wet and completely pliant beneath him, and Roger felt the redness of rut beating behind his eyes.

He’d always planned this. He’d planned that their first time, he’d fuck John slowly, sweetly, gently, drawing things out so that they could kiss, so that he could tell John what the omega meant to him. Now all his plans flew straight out the window as he snapped his hips forward, John rising to meet his every thrust, his little gasps and cries spurring Roger on.

John smelled delicious, perfect. Roger bent and nuzzled at his neck, kissing gently over the gland, and John moaned again, his legs tightening around Roger; Roger felt his thrusts becoming more resistant and knew he was close. For the briefest moment, he felt his lips drawing back; all he had to do was bite down, and…

_No!_

Quickly, Roger moved his mouth; he closed his lips over a nipple instead, enjoying the way John’s cries rose to shrieks, and then John was coming again. The effect was instant, and Roger couldn’t help but growl as he came, his knot swelling to lock him into place and make John shudder in pleasure.

When Roger got his breath back, he lifted his head to look at John. The omega was clearly under, his eyelashes flickering, his face completely blissed out. Roger’s eyes flickered down to where they were joined, little shivers of pleasure racing down his spine at the sight of John’s hole stretched around his knot.

He turned to Freddie and Brian, excited to find out what kind of mess they’d got themselves into, only to find them red and still rock-hard. Both bore various signs of vigorous blowjobs and stroking, and both looked incredibly desperate.

“Are you two all right?” Good god, his voice was slurring; he was really out of it.

“Rog,” Brian’s voice was a little squeaky with need, “ _we can’t come_.”

“What?”

“We can’t – we’ve tried _everything_ ,” Freddie moaned.

Something stirred in the back of Roger’s mind; something about alphas and omega heats, but he couldn’t quite remember. He reached out, pulling them both closer, and kissed them, sloppy but content, trying to take their minds off their mysterious inability to come.

Several minutes later, he felt his knot deflate, and he slid out of John carefully, unhooking his legs and stretching his own; it hadn’t been an easy position to maintain. John was still clearly under, but his breathing was starting to attain a ragged edge again.

Carefully, they shuffled themselves around in the nest, trying not to disturb it too much. Even as they did, John let out another whine, and reached out; Brian was the nearest, and found himself pulled into John’s arms, kissing him gently.

“Bri,” John mumbled, and there was so much longing in the sound that Brian was powerless to do anything other than slide down John’s body. There was something he’d been tempted to try, something he’d always wanted to do to John, but was even more tempted now that he knew the other’s status. His hands were gentle on John’s hips as he rolled him over; he ran them down the thighs he’d spent the better part of three years ogling in those tight satin pants.

“John, can I kiss you here?”

John made a vaguely incoherent sound in reply, which Brian took as a yes, realising he wouldn’t get any other answer.

His first lick was hesitant, wondering if John would like it, but John had let out a breathy moan and pushed his ass in the air, encouraging Brian to lean in and take a deeper taste. He could taste Roger, of course, but there was something intoxicating about John, the smell of him, the taste of his slick, and Brian found himself pushing his face in deeper, working his tongue with every trick he knew. On a good night, he could make Roger or Freddie come with just his tongue; he wondered if he could do the same to John.

Where Roger’s ministrations had sent John’s voice high, Brian’s seemed to be sending him low, rumbling moans deep in his chest as he pushed his hips back against Brian’s face, ragged gasps leaving his lips as he drew his knees up underneath him to get better leverage. Brian couldn’t help his own moan as John fucked himself on his tongue; he reached around with one hand for John’s cock, but his fingers had barely brushed it before John was shuddering and coming.

Brian pulled back, having not expected the mess that it made of his face, and was about to wipe it when he had a purely _filthy_ idea. Grinning, he turned to Freddie, and pulled him close for a kiss.

Freddie was quick to catch on, licking his way across Brian’s lips and unable to suppress his growl as he did. Their kiss turned into a brief war for dominance as instinct flared; Brian managed to pin Freddie down, being taller and heavier, and bit at his lips, growling softly.

They were interrupted by another whimper out of John, and Brian turned away from Freddie immediately, drawn back to their omega like a moth to a flame. Brian had known omegas “went under” during heats; he had not realised that he would do the same. John still had his knees drawn up, his ass in the air, and even as Brian gripped his hips, he wriggled it slightly, invitingly.

It was less fucking, and more a savage fight for satisfaction, some less-primal part of Brian’s brain observed. He could see the redness of John’s scent glands; it wouldn’t be hard to reach down…but no, he had promised.

For all his difficulty in coming before, it seemed to rush upon him now, John howling and scrabbling at the sheets as his back flexed, his orgasm punched from him by the feeling of Brian’s knot swelling inside him; Brian found he couldn’t keep his limbs up, and collapsed on top of John, his body holding the younger man’s down. His brain was completely hazy; it took him a minute or more to realise he was probably squashing John, and then he became aware of a soft rumbling…

Was John _purring_?

Clearly Brian’s weight wasn’t an issue then.

Through the fog of his brain, he felt bad for Freddie. He must be so very desperate now, and John was surely worn out, would sleep for a while. But when Brian’s knot went down and the guitarist rolled off him, they were all three surprised as John turned and launched himself into Freddie’s lap. Brian had rolled sideways into Roger’s arms; the drummer was also still under, or close to it, and they could do little more than nuzzle into each other and watch.

It was almost, Freddie thought, as John immediately lowered himself onto Freddie’s cock, as though John was getting more worked up with each fuck, not less. He was completely wordless, now, his sounds growing raspy and hoarse, but Freddie couldn’t tear his eyes away from the way his wavy hair bounced on his shoulders, or the flush on his chest, the way his head snapped back and forth as though searching for something.

Freddie braced himself, pushing his hips upwards as hard as he could and pulling John’s hips down at the same time; John almost immediately went limp, allowing Freddie to take control, his face returning to its blissed out state.

Freddie wanted very badly to last, but he’d been waiting too long. John’s scent was rising into his nose, surrounding him; it would be too easy to sink his teeth into the spot that would mark John as _his_ , irrevocably. He knew Brian and Roger had fought their own battle; Freddie gripped John’s hair and pulled his head up so that he could sink his teeth into his plump lower lip instead.

John made a noise like a squeal, and his body was convulsing around Freddie. Freddie could only growl into John’s mouth as he felt his knot swell, his hips bucking uncontrollably at the sensation of the tight, wet heat getting even tighter.

John slumped against him, and Freddie, through the haze, wrapped his arms around him, holding him upright. This wasn’t just going under; the rhythmic breathing told Freddie that John had fallen asleep. He was hardly surprised; they’d done an intense show and then this, John had to be exhausted.

His own mind was slipping; he felt Brian and Roger’s soft hands on him, guiding him to lie down, and then they were all curled up together, their scents mingling in the air. Freddie closed his eyes, and let himself slip into dreams.

*

Brian woke the next morning to the feeling of lips on his cock; it jolted him quickly to full wakefulness, his eyes snapping open to be greeted by the sight of John’s head between his legs. Even as he looked, John lifted his head and returned his gaze; his eyes were sparkling with their usual green-grey hue, and his grin was wicked enough to take Brian’s breath away.

“Good morning, Bri,” John smirked, his voice hoarse. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did,” Brian managed to reply. His brain was ticking over more quickly now, and he realised why he’d been singled out for this treatment; Roger and Freddie were both face-down – Brian’s cock had been the only readily-accessible one. “Did you?”

“I _did_ ,” John purred, creeping his way up Brian’s body, “and when I woke up, I was very quiet…so that my lovely alphas could sleep and rest…”

Brian inhaled as John’s lips trailed over his neck. Their scents were mixed, resting over John like a quilt, a clear sign to all that even if he wasn’t mated, John had alpha lovers. Brian felt his chest rumble in satisfaction. He could also smell that John’s heat was spiking again. But this didn’t seem right; wasn’t John still supposed to be mindless, wanting, incoherent?

“You’re thinking much too hard.”

“Mmm,” Brian shifted very slightly, not wanting to disturb the other two. “Just realising that the textbooks may be wrong on several points.”

John chuckled softly, wriggling himself into position so that he could push himself onto Brian’s cock; Brian reached down to help him, guiding himself inside. “I have what I need, and my body knows it,” he whispered, bending down to place a kiss over Brian’s heart.

Brian couldn’t help his smile when he realised how wet John was. “You’ve been such a good boy for us,” he sighed, rocking his hips up. “Letting us sleep, letting us take care of you.”

The blissful expression began to spread over John’s face again; but this time, the greenness stayed in his eyes, and he was still verbal, as evidenced by his soft chant of “Bri, please…Bri, Bri, god, Bri, _please_ …”

John’s hair fell forward, and Brian would swear he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

He bit his lip, trying to contain his growl as his knot swelled, but the lovely noises John made as it locked them in place and his own orgasm overtook him were louder than expected.

John draped himself over Brian, purring softly, and smiling at Roger, who was blinking sleepily at them with an expression that was rapidly becoming rather put out.

“You started without us!”

“I couldn’t reach your cock,” John pointed out mildly. “Brian got in first because he was smart enough to sleep on his back.” Brian preened; Roger swatted him.

“Rude.”

“Of course, there is _something_ you could do,” John batted his eyelashes, and Roger immediately kissed him, dropping back down onto the mattress to indicate that whatever John wanted him to do, he would do it. His instincts were driving him to please his omega in any way possible.

(His biologist brain was filing a lot of information away for future consideration, but Roger wasn’t exactly thinking with _that_ part of his brain right now.)

“What’s that?”

“I brought in breakfast, tea, and water,” John waved his hand towards the bedside table. “But I’m afraid I’m rather…uhh…stuck, at the moment. Would you fetch it for us?”

“Of course.” Roger scrambled quickly out of the nest, rescuing the tray and balancing it carefully on the wall of the nest; he poured out a glass of water and a cup of tea for each of them, keeping them within reach. Now that John had mentioned it, he was achingly thirsty and hungry.

“Good morning, darlings,” Freddie yawned. “Can I smell tea – well, that’s not fair,” he grumped as he took in the sight of Brian and John locked together.

“You can go next this time, Fred,” John teased, a playful grin on his face. “But breakfast first.”

Roger passed over the cheese on toast – none of them were prepared to argue with John’s choice of breakfast food. It was his heat, he knew what would sustain him. Still, he couldn’t resist dangling it just out of John’s reach, making John stretch up until a hiss from both himself and Brian reminded them that they were locked together.

“Don’t be a prick, or you’ll get _none_ ,” John threatened.

“You wouldn’t,” Roger said confidently. “You need me. The other two won’t be able to keep up.”

“I’ll bet they could _now_ ,” John taunted, “and I’d have no hesitation in doing so.”

Roger rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion and stuck the corner of the toast into John’s mouth.

Freddie, meanwhile, had coaxed Brian’s head up onto his thigh – being a slightly less hazardous position – and was helping him drink his tea, small sips so that Brian didn’t choke. Brian was smiling up at him, utterly content, and reached up to weave his fingers in Freddie’s dark hair.

It was domestic, almost normal – at least until Brian’s knot deflated and John slid off him with a little whine, turning his eyes on Freddie.

The change in John was intriguing – and hot, Roger thought. The night before, he’d wanted to be held down and fucked. Today, he was definitely the one in charge; and the hormone wash through the scents of the three alphas told Roger that none of them were objecting. That was not what the textbooks said.

“Freddie,” John’s voice gasped out as he rode the singer hard, hips grinding down, “Rog’s in his head again, thinking I’m a textbook. We’re obviously not giving him enough of a show.”

Freddie laughed lightly, thrusting his hips up with as much force as he could muster, and John grabbed Roger by the hair, yanking him roughly so that their mouths clashed. Roger couldn’t help but moan as he surrendered immediately to the kiss, John’s tongue licking its way in, and relished the way John’s body shuddered and shook as Freddie drove him towards orgasm yet again.

“Mmm,” John sighed, breaking away from Roger’s mouth and bending down to kiss Freddie. “That’s nice. Can someone pass me the tea?”

Brian was the quickest to move this time, grabbed the cup and passing it over.

“I feel like I haven’t done my job well enough, with you sitting on my cock drinking tea, darling.”

John laughed, a sound that sent joy ringing through all of them, and his smile was bright.

“You’re doing your job perfectly well, love,” he teased, wriggling on Freddie’s knot, making the singer gasp. “I’ve never been happier in my life.”

“Didn’t think you’d be this chatty,” Roger said conversationally as he handed Brian a glass of water.

A beautiful pink blush spread across John’s cheeks, one they knew instinctively wasn’t from the heat, and he bit his lip, looking down, and suddenly finding Freddie’s chest hair _very_ interesting.

“My mother did tell me about this,” John admitted after a moment, his voice shy. “But I didn’t know whether to believe her or not, when all the classes – all the books – say otherwise. She told me that when…when an omega falls in love, when they take their lover or lovers to bed in heat, then yes, they lose themselves for a while. But only until they have been scented and knotted by their lover, or each of their lovers. Once that happens, they become coherent again for the remaining two days, as long as their heat spikes keep getting satisfied. But only if…only if they’re truly in love with the alpha or alphas. And only if…only if their feelings are returned.” John’s blush was creeping down his neck now, his teeth worrying his lip, and he didn’t meet any of their eyes.

“So it’s different,” Roger breathed, “it’s different because we love you.”

John’s smile was shy, and he finally looked up.

“Not just that,” he whispered. “But because…because I love you, too.”

Roger felt tears prick his eyes from the happiness that flooded through him. It took him a moment to realise why he’d reacted so strongly; apart from his own joy, he could smell the joy on the other three, as well.

Wait.

He could _smell John’s emotions!_

Laughing, he launched himself forward, nuzzling his face into John’s neck and ignoring John’s protests as he steadied his teacup.

“What’s all this about?” John asked, but the gruff tone was clearly false and Roger knew it.

“I can smell you,” he whispered. “I can smell your feelings.”

And then Brian’s nose was buried in the other side of John’s neck, and Freddie had taken John’s wrist and was holding it to his face.

“Oh god,” Brian murmured, “It’s the most wonderful smell. You smell so happy.”

“Because I am,” John swallowed down his tears, letting himself bask in the joy around him.

Of course, the moment was promptly spoiled by Freddie’s knot going down, causing a spike of heat to stab through John’s gut.

“Stupid heat.”

“Come here, our dear love,” Roger’s face looked like the sun, he was smiling so widely. “We’ll take care of you. We’ll take care of you always.”

*

When John woke, two days later, he could feel the usual bone-deep ache that signaled the end of his heat. He rarely felt the strain in his body during the heat, but afterwards it tended to hit him like a freight train.

It was lesser this time, though. Smiling, John thought he could guess why. Everything about this heat had been better than any other. And even if he hadn’t mated with Roger, Brian and Freddie this time, they _had_ formed some other kind of connection. A heart-link, his mother had called it. Not quite a full bond, but close to it. Enough that they would probably have some sense of each other’s moods and feelings. Enough to satisfy his instincts, at least for a while.

He should probably shower. They all should; but maybe he should go first. That way he’d get all the hot water on his sore muscles.

But when he tried to move, there were soft growling rumbles of protest from the pile, and he felt himself pulled back down. Freddie’s arm was wrapped around his waist, his hand stroking over John’s stomach in a way that was oddly soothing. Roger was pressed against his front, his face resting against John’s chest; and Brian was slung over Freddie, half on top of the smaller man, his fingers tangled in John’s hair.

Well, John thought…maybe he could lie in bed just a little longer. The patterns Freddie’s fingers were tracing low over his belly were calming, it would be so easy to just…fall…back…asleep…

(Later, the three alphas would wake, make breakfast, and forgo showers of their own to make sure John had the best. Even later, John would write out his notice for the end of his lease. No sense living apart from _his_ alphas, after all.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad so many of you liked it!
> 
> (Bonus points - or perhaps a bonus snippet - if enough of you guess why I chose this particular concert.)

**Author's Note:**

> Ooof! Sorry for all the delays, folks! The actual real world required my attention, boo. Normal service to resume shortly (hopefully).


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